TV Review: Moon Knight (2022)

Moon Knight (2022) adapted for television by Jeremy Slater from the comic by Doug Moench and Don Perlin

Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) is a lackluster British museum gift shop employee with an expertise in Egyptian mythology. His real problem is two-fold: blackouts that lead to bizarre circumstances and dreams that show a different life as an American soldier of fortune. He also has unsettling encounters with Harrow (Ethan Hawke), a man with some sort of connection to the Egyptian gods. Harrow is building a collection of disciples to enact whatever plan he has. Steven has a hard time keeping track of reality. Viewers quickly discover that his American version, Marc Spector, is sharing the body with Grant. Spector has a lot more ambition and drive. He is the avatar of Khonshu (voiced by F. Murray Abraham), a minor Egyptian deity obsessed with avenging people wronged in the middle of the night. If the wrongs happen during daytime, that's okay too. Spector transforms into Moon Knight, a cloaked superhero who rights wrongs, though mostly in this show he's fighting with Harrow and his minions.

The effort to navigate their dual lives and their conflicting goals make Steven and Marc interesting characters. Isaac gives a good performance, flipping between the characters with ease and making both of them sympathetic. The show uses reflections to show the other character trapped inside, giving the two personalities a way to dialog with each other. Harrow comes off as a less compelling character and only a mildly interesting villain. He wants to release a goddess who will punish evildoers before they even commit their crimes. Hawke tries to give Harrow some creepiness but it doesn't really work too often. 

The use of Egyptian mythology is uneven. The show starts acknowledging the basics and has mostly museum-type mythology, which does not get into a lot of detail. Then they go fully into it for the last half of the show, an unexpected and happy shift. Some bits worked less well than others because blending modern sensibilities with ancient mythology is tricky. The show became much more challenging to follow and think about, which I liked. 

The ending was a typical big battle. The show suffers from the worst post-credits sequence since Legion. That last scene presents a surprise twist that makes very little sense with the rest of the story and brought up the wrong sorts of questions a viewer wants to be left with.

Mildly recommended.